Thomas Edgar Harris

Aug. 6, 1949 — May 14, 2020

Thomas Edgar Harris, 70, died May 14, 2020 while enjoying a camping trip with his wife and friends near Hope, Alaska.

Tom was born in San Antonio, Texas, on Aug. 6, 1949 to Ken and Jonell Harris, who instilled in their son a deep Christian faith and the importance of family. He grew up hunting and fishing with his dad, uncles, and cousins.

Following high school, Tom attended Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Missouri, where he met and married a fellow Texan named Linda.

In their early 20s, the young couple drove to Alaska in 1972 to serve youth at Alaskan Christian School/Cookson Hills Children’s Home. They quickly fell in love with the area and built their own home in Anchor Point where they lived for the next 48 years. Tom worked as a custodian at Nikolaevsk School before transferring to a career in general maintenance at the Kenai Peninsula Borough where he retired in 2005. Tom was a faithful member of Homer Christian Church, serving as an elder and youth leader for many years.

To all who knew him and those he first met, Tom was generous, playful, loving, quick to smile or lend a hand, and always ready to share a hunting story. He and Linda opened their hearts and home to endless summer visitors always eager to introduce friends and family to the Alaska outdoors they loved.

Tom is survived by Linda, his wife of 49 years; sons Brad Harris and wife Carrie and Joshua Harris and wife Heather, all of Anchorage; daughter, Marla Routon and husband Micah of Olinda, Brazil; three beloved grandsons, West, Bendigo, and Beckett Harris; five adored granddaughters, Samara, Noelle, and Aliya Routon and Sarah and Scout Harris; and his big brother, Wayne Harris and wife Patty of Las Vegas, Nevada.

A celebration of the Life of Tom Harris will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 7, 2020. Please email tomharrismemorial2020@gmail.com for a link to the video memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Tom’s honor to the Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska.